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You caught me at a nostalgic time…here's what I learned over the course of 5 years at MSU:

Campus tricks:
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This may be outdated cause they just renovated and I graduated last year, but the Union's 2nd-4th floors have some seriously huge conference rooms that are seldomly used. Even during midterms and finals, our group of study buddies were able to find a room up there. Way better than tryina fight with 2K people in the Lib for wifi…better bathrooms too.

If you haven't done it yet, walk the length of the Red Cedar on campus. It's gorgeous, and you'll definitely find some cool little spots for relaxing/smoking/taking dates.

If it's still there, Wanderer's Tea House is a really chill spot. The owners fuckin shower you with kindness and attention, and are generally just really sweet people. They also have board games, ample outlets, and comfy chairs to read on. Get a pot of loose-leaf and have them school you on the different kinds of tea they have. Espresso Royale is nice I guess…If you see a little shop run by locals, support that shit, else it'll go out of business. Stores have it really, really hard in college towns.

If you insist on playing beerbong in your dorm room (hint: don't…ping pong balls make a very distinctive binking noise that travels through every material known to man), use water in the cups, put empties out of sight, and have a place to stash open drinks within 3s if the RA's come knocking. The water bit in the cup has actually saved my ass several times.

Buddy up to your RA's, and know the others in the building. They're students just like you, and being responsible for a bunch of college kids can get really lonely. What's more, if the RA's know you, they're more likely to let things slide. You should also end up figuring out when they do rounds so you know what times to be careful. IIRC, rounds were usually at 9 and either 11 or midnight.

Don't smoke weed in your fucking room. RA's are trained to call the cops at even the smell of it. Go outside, find a nice spot under a low-traffic bridge or somewhere on the Red Cedar trail and do it there.

If you're looking for internships or more experience, talk to your professors. I got some seriously fun projects by just talking about my interests with my profs—they have so many things going all the time, and they're usually looking for student help. If they don't have something interesting, they probably know a prof who does.

Subscribe to the student organic farm newsletter (which btw, should be in full swing right now), and get in on the tastiness. IIRC, they're around every Thursday…and the Spanish eggplant makes for a killer eggplant parm.

The recycling center has a lot of really cool stuff and usually has some really sweet deals. I went there for my desk, lamps, office chairs, monitors…they have a lot of sweet stuff.

The diary store has a grilled cheese/tomato soup deal on Mondays for something around $3.

On bikes:
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If you have a bike, invest a U-Lock for the back tire and the frame, and an auxiliary cable that runs between your frame, the seat (if you can manage) and your front tire. It's really easy to cut a cable or pop a ulock, but it's a time-consuming pain in the ass to have to do both. This video should be required viewing for bike ownership.

Carry a bicycle multi-tool, they're really cheap, can fit in a backpack or messenger bag, and will save your ass. You might also consider reading up on basic bike maintenance sometime when you're procrastinating…that shit can save you serious money.

If you don't have a bike, but are thinking about it, go to the MSU Bike Store over by Bessey Hall and have them take your measurements and chat with them about what you should be looking for. They're all bike geeks, and are really easy to get talking if they have some free time and you demonstrate you want to talk shop. I'm a little biassed, but I recommend you go for a road bike. Mountain bikes look cool, but goddamn if they're not inefficient as hell, and completely unsuited for riding around on campus.

As far as actual bike repairs go, there's a little bike shop run by this guy and his boxer (friendliest dog ever) called (Evergreen Bikes)[http://evergreencyclesandrepair.com/index.htm]. If it's still in the same spot, it's over in the little plaza behind Dublin's parking lot as if you were taking the back way to get to Crunchie's. It's on Grand River by Chipotle. Dude will hook you up for a really decent price, in a really decent amount of time. The MSU bike store is cool and all, but they're a little pricey, and they're usually really, really busy.

Learn to ride in the bike lanes on the road, and memorize when they stop. Your proper place is on the road, so learn to coexist with your fellow wheeled machines of death and terror. The cannonized hand signals really don't matter because nobody knows what they mean, it's better to just fully extend your arm and wag your hand in the direction you're intending to turn (or merge) ~10s before you do it, then do it. But seriously, stay off the bloody sidewalk.

Get some bike lights. You can order them on Amazon for really cheap, and they will save your life.

Misc
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Buy one of these, and keep it in your bag. Meyers has them if you don't want to prime it. The person with a wall adapter in a crowded study hall will always have a plug.

Amazon is really awesome for students.

Buy your books online, they will always be cheaper.

* Made some clarifications

* made the post up-to-date

Everyone in this world can't love their work. Loving your work is a luxury that only a small fraction of our population (as in In the Name of Love by my friend Miya Tokumitsu). If you want to get a job that you love, you're going to have to work hard and develop marketable skills (think So Good They Can't Ignore You by a man that I wish were my friend, Cal Newport).

Take this valuable time to learn a new skill. An introductory programming course is seriously valuable to almost anyone. If you're majoring in a science or social science, you should take the scientific writing. It's a surprisingly challenging subject, and most people are quite bad at it. There are always more math classes too. Personally, I like statistics because those classes are a little lighter than straight math courses. If you're a humanities person, take a class that builds your writing skill in a different way. If you're used to writing about books for your English major, take a history course. Your entire frame of reference will change, and you'll be able to apply that other pattern of thinking to your work in English. If you're a history major, take some economics courses and find out how economists think.

I don't care what you do, but if you're going to do it, plan out your strategy carefully. This time is really valuable, so make the most of it. If you decide to have fun with some easy elective that you enjoy, make sure that it's not just a space-filler; make sure that the joy it brings you is worth sacrificing 1/10 of a year of your young life when you could be learning a valuable skill.

I didn't have the dorm experience, but I lived far enough from campus that I would hang out there all day most days.

Quality shoes - you will be walking quite a bit. Depending on your style, consider something like a waterproof hiking shoe that will last through some like snows.

Reusable water bottle that will fit in your backpack well. Sparty's will fill it up, or you can use the drinking fountains.

I'm a fan of some of the /r/edc stuff as well, a small flashlight can be very useful, and shouldn't run over $20.

A small plug splitter, would be very useful. I have a more complicated one, but if I did it again, I'd get this. A lot easier to charge your laptop/phone when you don't have to convince someone to unplug theirs.

Either a collapsible umbrella or packable raincoat.

Extra headphones. I'm lucky enough to have accumulated several pairs of iphone earbuds, so if I lose/break one, I'm still okay.

I have this one because at the time of purchase the Xiaomi could only be found for $600 on aliexpress (it was sketchy + long wait time) whereas I could buy this Glion on amazon that is american made and comes with a 1 year warranty and have it shipped in 2 days. The Glion is great because it folds up nicely and it can stand up straight as well as it’s impossible to get a flat tire. I’ve read that flats on the Xiaomi are a nightmare to change. If I had to do it over and purchase one right now I would get the Xiaomi though especially since it’s only $400 on Amazon.

Fellow out-of-state student who learned the hard way that snow is cold.

The majority of girls at MSU have these snow boots. Super fashionable, water proof, and comfy to walk in. Other stores have more pattern variety than online.

https://www.sperry.com/en/womens-shoes-wet-weather/

You need a good winter coat, it'll be cold October-March. I got this puffer jacket that goes to my shins that I only wear when it's freezing out. I have a normal length jacket for other days. It was super nice during the polar vortex: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B01LWJFIBJ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Also get a rain jacket with some sort of insulation inside. If it doesn't snow, it's cold and rainy.

For moving, I HIGHLY recommend getting the Ziploc space bags. I use them to move to and from MSU, and use them to store out of season clothes under my bed or in the closet. I'm 2 years in and none have broken.

Also, don't buy everything in Texas then drive it all to MSU. Most stores like Walmart let you shop online and pick up at any store, then you avoid common items being out of stock.

Final tip - freshmen can't have cars on campus. Buy one of those thin and long plastic storage bins and fill with enough toiletries and medicine for the year. Sure there are Spartys and a few stores on Grand River, but this is way more convenient.

I wouldn't consider myself a coffee connoisseur but rather I base my taste on what others think. This stuff is delicious (or that's what they think), the robusta sweetens the espresso while increasing its potency. Robusta is considered a lower grade strain but the Italians love lavazza and they invented espresso so they must know something that I don't.

http://www.amazon.com/Lavazza-Ground-Coffee-Italian-8-8-Ounce/dp/B001E5E0D8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1398280507&sr=8-1&keywords=crema+gusto

Just emulate them. This thing works brilliantly for using a controller with PJ64. We had some pretty epic mario kart tournaments in the atrium of the BPS building with those last year.

one with a remote control is a super nice thing to have. something like this. not sure if this model itself is any good but you get the idea. http://www.amazon.com/Lasko-3542-Cyclone-Remote-Control/dp/B001VE936Q/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1407746724&sr=8-7&keywords=fans+with+remote+control

I would purchase some winter running silicone cleats for your shoes like these:https://www.amazon.com/Yaktrax-Traction-Cleats-Running-Small/dp/B007S3QY16/ref=mp_s_a_1_6?keywords=winter+running+shoe+ice&qid=1567107235&s=gateway&sr=8-6

My brother dislocated his shoulder once running in the winter, doesnt take much.

The previous owner of my last car just left it there when he sold it, so I don't know where he bought it. It's a Sheffield No12000, and it's not too expensive.

Edit: Here's the website for Sheffield Multi-Tools

Razor A5 LUX Kick Scooter - Blue (Renewed) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07QX4MWQH/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_sYWoDbCK1EZVG

Find them at http://mascotbabies.com/msu/ and on https://www.amazon.com/dp/1796984442

Tap him on the shoulder and ask him to move his setup down to the study lounge. Also, invest in some ear plugs and a white noise machine or some of these. I had a roommate who had to sleep with a loud television on and this really helped.

This problem might solve itself when your roomie fails all his courses and drops out.